Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi

Produced for Touchstone Pictures, a Disney offshoot offering slightly more mature fare, this smash-hit musical comedy stars Whoopi Goldberg as Reno lounge singer Deloris Wilson, who, on the run from the mob, joins a cloister of nuns in San Francisco. Unsure how best to apply her real-world skills, Deloris—now called Sister Mary Clarence—starts leading the choir, whose overnight success brings her unwanted attention. With an uplifting message of sisterhood, chosen family, and the importance of art in everyone’s life, Sister Act became one of the highest-grossing films of 1992 and was eventually adapted for the stage in 2006.

Inspired by actual events, this New York–set film refashions the eight-month newsboys’ strike of 1899 as a rollicking musical. Featuring early performances from teenaged Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) and David Moscow (Big), choreography designed in part by the film’s director, Kenny Ortega, and original tunes by Alan Menken—celebrated for his collaboration with lyricist Howard Ashman on animated Disney films—Newsies has been embraced in revival screenings and is now considered a cult classic.

Adapted from the 1977 Tony Award–winning Broadway musical by director John Huston (The Maltese Falcon), this Depression-era story finds iconic Little Orphan Annie on the big screen for the first time. As realized by newcomer Aileen Quinn, Annie’s indefatigable gumption is put to the test as she navigates daily insults from the cruel Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett) and works her way into the heart of Daddy Warbucks (Albert Finney). Nominated for its art direction and adapted score, the enduring classic brings songs like “It’s The Hard Knock Life” and “Tomorrow” to vivid life, planting them firmly in the popular American consciousness.

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George Lucas’s homage to the pulpy tradition of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon changed the face of cinema, revolutionized visual effects, and launched one of the largest franchises in movie history. The epic space saga combines classic techniques such as matte paintings and miniatures with the then-new technology of motion control photography. Star Wars imagined worlds, machines, and creatures that remain cinematic touchstones and continue to fascinate audiences across generations. A Best Picture nominee, the record-breaking hit won six Oscars including Visual Effects, and received a Special Achievement Award for Ben Burtt’s imaginative sound creations.

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Luke Skywalker’s destruction of the Death Star at the end of A New Hope managed only to slow Darth Vader’s plans for galactic domination. In this highly anticipated sequel, the young Jedi trainee and his new friends in the Rebellion face bigger challenges, and Luke learns a shocking secret about his lineage in what is regarded as one of the greatest plot twists of all time. Though darker than the previous Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most beloved in the series, and it won Oscars for its sound and visual effects. It also garnered nominations for its art direction and John Williams’s score, which introduced Darth Vader’s iconic theme, “The Imperial March.”

The final episode in the original Star Wars trilogy begins as Luke Skywalker makes a desperate attempt to rescue Han Solo and Princess Leia from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt and closes with a decisive battle against the Empire, with the unexpected help of the plucky Ewoks. Return of the Jedi received Oscar nominations for its art direction, sound, sound effects editing, and John Williams’s original score, and received a Special Achievement Award for the spectacular visual effects by Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett.

George Lucas returned to the director’s chair for the first time in 22 years for this prequel that restarted the series. Set 32 years before the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace reveals how Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and young Obi-Wan Kenobi first met the child who would grow up to become the fearsome Darth Vader. Lucas took advantage of the groundbreaking computer-generated effects his companies helped pioneer to expand upon this galaxy far, far away. The film received Oscar nominations for its visual effects, sound, and sound effects editing. Its impressive contributions include Trisha Biggar’s imaginative costumes and John Williams’s score, which builds on the composer’s classic Star Wars themes with new material such as the thrilling “Duel of the Fates.”

Ten years after the events in The Phantom Menace, Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) faces a Separatist crisis in the Galactic Republic and seeks protection from the Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and a teenage Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan uncovers a secret clone army on the planet Kamino, while a tragedy in Anakin's life begins his turn toward the Dark Side. Shot one year after The Phantom Menace, the second of Lucas's galactic prequels brings composer John Williams back to the universe. The film was nominated for Visual Effects at the 75th Oscars.

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Picking up three years after the events in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith is a critical turning point in the Star Wars saga. Bridging the prequels and the original trilogy, the film depicts the fall of the Republic, the rise of the Empire, Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader, and the birth of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. The final film in the franchise directed by creator George Lucas, Revenge of the Sith is perhaps the darkest and most emotionally charged to date. It was also one of the first commercially released films to be shot entirely with digital cameras—in this case, a Sony CineAlta HDW-F900.

J. J. Abrams’s enormously popular restarting of the Star Wars series brought back beloved icons such as Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca while introducing a host of new characters, focusing on a feisty orphan (Daisy Ridley) and a renegade stormtrooper (John Boyega) who team to battle a new resurgence of the Empire. The film received five Oscar nominations for Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and John Williams’s score. Williams brings back previous motifs while contributing a wealth of new material.

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